Months ago, long before Franklin knew it would host one of its biggest home football games in years, the organizers of Fall Fest (a downtown fall celebration) arranged for a fireworks display. That's a nice touch, isn't it? Set the sky on fire and congratulate a community's deep tradition, American style.
But who knew that a long-planned demonstration would coincide so beautifully with what was happening a half-mile away at Atrium Stadium, where the 6-1 Franklin Wildcats battled the 6-1 Eaton Eagles in a game that carried implications for both the SWBL championship and the state football playoffs. Hollywood couldn't have scripted this any better.
Franklin trailed just about the whole game. The 'Cats tried to stay step-for-step with Eaton quarterback Cole French, a surefire Division I college player next year, but they couldn't quite catch him. He's deadly in so many ways. But if this Franklin team stands for anything, it stands for perseverance, so the deficit only made it work harder. When a fumble recovery led to a field goal just before halftime, trimming the Eaton lead to 28-26, it was hoped that would cause the momentum to change.
Adjustments were made at halftime, and the Wildcat defense stiffened. But Eaton's did, too. The score remained the same throughout the third quarter, causing a case or two of heart failure, at least for me. For the 'Cats to prevail, something had to happen.
It did. With 6:46 remaining, Kelly LeForce stepped in front of a French pass and sprinted 25 yards to the go-ahead touchdown. It was a thing of beauty and the cheers from the stadium had to have been heard in Harpland. This doesn't happen, does it? Teams are supposed to collapse when the going gets tough, leaving everyone to talk about "What might have been ..." and "Maybe next year ..." But here were the 'Cats fighting back and taking the lead. Amazing.
But hold on, Eaton wasn't finished. French looks a lot like Ben Roethlisberger, what with a strong arm and a big #7 across his chest, and he showed he has the guts of Roethlisberger, too. He calmly and cooly led Eaton straight down the field for a touchdown that allowed the Eagles to re-gain the lead, 35-32, just like that. Time was running out. The guys had to be exhausted. Surely another miracle wasn't in the works, was it?
Um, in a word, yeah. Remember the thing about perseverance? These 'Cats have nine lives, and they have a confidence about them that is inspiring. With good field position, the offense took the field. The weapons they have are as diverse as they are effective -- Everitt Williams and Connor Stickelman flanked as receivers, Chris Hymer, Quenton Richards and Ben Kirby as hard-charging runners, and a massive line. Kevin Stewart is their senior quarterback, a field general who instills confidence and embodies competitiveness, aside from the fact he's one of the nicest kids who ever walked the planet (he's my nephew, so I know this to be true).
Could they make the comeback?
Kirby (who I'm not related to) run up the gut. Hymer went off-tackle a few times. Then Kevin connected on a pass pattern that gave Franklin a first down and yet another life. This was exciting, it was unbelievable and it was killing me. The time kept clicking away.
Along the sidelines, Mike Cox was pacing back and forth. He's been around Franklin football forever, first as a player way back when Lou Kaczmarek was head coach and then as an assistant coach himself for going on 30 years. He's seen it all. And he was confident enough to make a prediction. "We're going to take it in," he said. "With about a minute to go, we're going to take it in."
Turns out he's as prophetic as he is gifted at coaching. Only two plays later, Kevin handed off to Hymer, who's spent an entire season running past would-be tacklers, leaving behind only dust and a whiff of air. He rounded left end, got to the outside, and then outran the entire Eaton secondary. Turns out he could have walked in ... backwards. Man, this kid can fly.
As usual, Charles Woods was right there to capture the moment on film.
And now there was a roar that could be heard in Miamisburg. The 'Cats had re-taken the lead, 38-35. Could this be happening? Was it real? A little more than two minutes remained.
But this was a loooooooong two minutes. Erik Vanlandingham screamed a kickoff that Eaton couldn't run out, putting the Eagles 80 yards away, but it hardly felt safe with French still at quarterback. He scrambles, he throws, and he makes things happen, or have I already mentioned that a thousand times? And then he did it, by connecting on a 30-yard strike that seemed to put Eaton around midfield.
Oh. My. Goodness. I'm 51 years old, with a law practice that puts me in a lot of challenging situations. I'm not supposed to ever get nervous. I'm supposed to put high school football in its proper perspective, as a game for teenagers that doesn't really affect the cycle of human life. But this was making me feel like a kid again. I was a Wildcat again, on the sidelines ... feeling that old spirit. I want to have faith and confident in my alma mater, but it's harder to watch than it is to play. You just knew something like this could happen. You just knew that with that much time, French would --
Oh, wait. There was a penalty marker on the play. The officials gathered and talked about for what seemed like a day and a half, only to announce that the penalty had been against Eaton ... bringing the play all the way back.
Another life. And, as it turned out, it was the last one Franklin would need.
French's last pass was intercepted by Wildcat Caleb Miller, creating a roar that had to have been heard in Brookville, who is Franklin's next opponent.
And here's where the fireworks come in.
As the Wildcats celebrated their victory, and as head coach Rodney Roberts rounded everyone up to pay tribute to the school fight song in front of the band, the Fall Fest fireworks went off precisely as planned, right at 11 o'clock.
 |
| Coach Rodney Roberts addressed his winning team afterward. |
There was no way of knowing, back when this was planned, that the football game would be delayed an hour because of lightning, causing it to end at 11 o'clock instead of around 10. There was no way of knowing the game would go a long way toward winning a league championship. And there was especially no way of knowing that the game would come down to its final seconds, with some fireworks of its own.
And yet that's exactly what happened.
All I can say is, "How cool is that?"
I didn't take any notes when I was at the game the other night. I had no intention of writing anything. But it's been almost 48 hours since that game ended, and even though I have a massive report due on a big case due in the morning, I had to put these thoughts to paper. If you weren't there, I had to tell you about it. And if you were, I wanted to share in the celebration with you.
Go, 'Cats. Good luck against Brookville.
I'd ask you for another Hollywood ending, but I'm not sure I can take it. Not two weeks in a row. I'll take a good old-fashioned boring butt-whooping instead...though I'm sure Brookville will have a lot to say about that. Here we go.